The Memory Bee

11.28.11 My NYC Day four

Our weekend adventure in NYC wouldn't be complete without a fabulous breakfast at Balthazar in SoHo and then shopping and doing a "cupcake stroll" as we tried to taste as many cupcakes as we could!

We went to the new location of Kate's Paperie (it's just not the fabulous store that it used to be,) tried the mini cupcakes at Melissa's, made our way to Molly's Cupcakes (the BEST by far and we loved the swings to sit on,) walked by Magnolia Bakery (too crowded this time,) and stopped into new location of The Ink Pad. Such nice people... we found lots of goodies and talked about the classes that I'll be teaching there in the spring (yeah!) From there we made our way to the Garage flea market... pretty scummy but fun to explore! I found a couple treasures to bring home.

Have you heard of yarn bombing? Google it... it's quite amazing! We found an example on this trike in Greenwich Village...

That evening we met up at Joe Allen, one of my favorite NY restaurants, for some star-gazing and good food! The funny thing is that one saw the same person we saw last year... Victor Garber. Our waiter said that he's not a regular so for us to see him eating there two years in a row is kind of funny. He was sitting with Ron Rifkin and some other people, and we saw Howie Mandel later at Carnegie Deli.

It was a wonderful weekend of laughing and friendship... I can't wait to do it again!

11.27.11 My NYC Day Three

Our Saturday in New York City began at Rockefeller Center where we gathered for photos and set out up 5th Avenue to see the city decorated in its Christmas finery.

I love the outtakes of our group picture...

We had the perfect group of people! Some had traveled with me before, some I'd know for years through teaching around the country, and others were new friends. I treasure each of them! This picture of Michelle and I is one of my favorites... it captures the joy of the day!

Here's peek of some of the decorations... Tiffany's had new decorations around the windows...

Mackenzie Childs decorates the store to look like a fantasy of black checks!

As usual the Bergdorf Goodman windows were amazing! My favorite had everything made out of paper... every single animal is millions of pieces of paper. True artistry!

Of course, I had to get a picture with my Abercrombie boyfriend! We enjoyed our waffles and creme from a truck in Central Park...

There were lots of other stops and beautiful things to see, but soon it was time to head to Tinsel Trading Company to get ready for class that evening. Marcia and her staff took perfect care of us and gave us exclusive access to the store along with a great dinner and lots of goodies to shop for.

Here's the project for the evening... I have a few leftover kits that I will be putting in my online shop soon.

It's a thrill and a privilege to teach in such an amazing place!

11.25.11 My NYC Day Two

Day two in New York began with a visit to the Today show at Rockefeller Center. The only stars we saw were us... I love the picture of the hosts with a picture of what was being shown on TV. When I zoomed in and enlarged the TV, you can see us in the background! (My red coat comes in handy for spotting us!)

After a quick pastry and coffee at Bouchon, we were off for our double decker bus tour of downtown Manhattan. It was really cold but we were so thankful for the sunshine! We got off at the site of the World Trade Center and walked around. It's constantly changing with all the development going on, and it's important to never forget what happened that awful day.

As we traveled on, we pulled up to a stop light and these guys in business suits were on stilts and were able to walk right up to the top of our bus... sort of bizarre! I have no idea what it was all about... You never know what you'll see in NYC!

Our next stop was the holiday market at Union Square and time to find a restroom! When you get desparate, where do you know you'll find a bathroom? In the baby store!

I tried the hot chocolate at City Bakery... that's a homemade marshmallow! I could only take a few sips because it was sooo rich! They make is with melted candy bars!

We shopped at Paper Presentation, ABC Carpet and Home, and Fishs Eddy and then on to Eataly where we found some good Italian food for dinner!

Love this art installation at the Flatiron building! We had tired feet but a great time by time we turned in to get some sleep for another busy day!

11.23.11 My NYC 2011: Day One

I'm home from a delightful and fabulous and really fun weekend in New York City where I was joined by 17 good friends to shop and explore and eat and do A LOT of walking. I'm so thankful that the weather was perfect!! The city put on it's party clothes and served up sunshine and we loved it!

Last Thursday my trip started out with meeting my good friend and shopping buddy Michelle and her daughter Daphne at the airport and then heading to the city for our traditional breakfast at Viands (the last counter service coffee shop in the city.) We made our way up Madison Avenue to the new Joe Fresh store, J Crew, and Laduree for our Parisian macarons! Ooh la la!

That night we treated ourselves to the Christmas Spectacular Rockettes show at Radio City Music Hall. The toy soldier routine is always one of my favorite! Love the Santas too, but most of all, I love that they still tell the story of Jesus' birth. In this era of political correctness, it's amazing to see that Christ is a part of Christmas in this show!

After a yummy red velvet Rockettes cupcake at Magnolia Bakery, we headed off for some much needed sleep before a crazy busy day on Friday!

11.14.11 Crop Paper Scissors... Yeah!

I'm home again from another trip... we had a really good weekend at Crop Paper Scissors in Waco! It was so nice to see everyone... some from Wichita Falls, from Houston, Georgia, and even from Waco!! Thank you to all for making the trek to take my classes! I was feeling very sentimental with Veteran's Day and being so close to Ft. Hood and not having Brandon there and not having the contact that we've had. I miss him a LOT!!

Of course we made a visit to one of my favorite stores anywhere... Bloom and Bee Swanky. I love their displays and mix of products. Don't you love these frames on the wall?

Loved having the time with Emmalie and her mom!

I'm in a whirlwind of things to do for my trip to New York City this weekend and class at Tinsel Trading Company. The weather forecast looks great! Ladies (and one man) are coming from across the country to see the city through my eyes... I hope they love it as much as me! California, Texas, Florida, Missouri, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Kansas are all represented! Can't wait to see everyone there and then share it all with you!

11.8.11 I know the way to San Jose!

I'm finally home after a great weekend in San Jose at Scrapbook Island! I love visiting stores over and over again because it truly is like going to see friends! This was my third visit to the Island this year! Thank you to everyone who comes to class and is so enthusiastic and so kind... you all are such a blessing to me. It's such a beautiful area... I love the mountains in the distance from my downtown hotel.

Love seeing Erin and Madeline and Doris and my WWFBFF, Anna-Marie!

And a big thank you to Melannie for my thoughtful birthday gift! I love it!

There are lots more pictures of all my cute students in the album on the side... I treasure you ALL!!

Any time now the internet on my son's FOB in Iraq is being shut down in preparation for leaving Iraq. I've come to rely on seeing his green dot pop up on Facebook everyday. Even if we don't talk, I at least knew he was ok.

This has been a totally unexpected blessing! When he went to Iraq, I thought it would be an occasional email or phone call or Skype, but I have loved and cherished being able to talk to him almost everyday! I will miss him and it A LOT! We got to Skype today in anticipation of losing that contact...

Today we received the news that they are most likely not coming home early as they had been told. They are probably going to be serving the rest of their one year deployment in Kuwait as a contingency force in case they are needed in the region. It could be something like 25,000 troops in Kuwait... not a good thing. The other bummer is that they cut off the mail early, so now they won't have Christmas presents and all until well after Christmas. I know that these things happen in the military but this whole thing has been handled really poorly. Leaving Iraq is the largest drawdown since Vietnam so it's a very complicated endeavor. I just wish they didn't make premature announcements of the plans. I also wish Obama had not announced that the troops would be home for Christmas! There are a lot of very disappointed soldiers and families out there!! I wonder if this will make the news! Please pray for the troops morale.

I'm looking forward to going to Texas tomorrow to teach at Crop Paper Scissors in Waco. It will feel strange to be that close to Ft. Hood but not have Brandon there! It will be great to see Emmalie and all the gals at CPS though. A little birdie told me that some are coming all the way from Georgia and Houston and the Dallas area for the classes! Can't wait to see you all!

11.1.11 All ones!

Happy November! I can't believe how the days are flying by! Only one more day in Florida and then I'll be on my way to California for a special weekend at Scrapbook Island in San Jose!

I've loved the time with my parents, enjoying the sunshine and shopping, and a really great weekend of classes at Whim So Doodle. I've lots of pictures to share!!

There have been days and sunsets on the beach....

this was the beach today...

I pretty much had the place to myself!

Whim So Doodle is an amazing store! I love all the unique displays! Such an extensive selection of products... I came home with a bag FULL!

Like said on Facebook, a huge thank you to Jill and Jo and the students for all the help and kindness extended to me. I've gotten some encouraging messages from students who loved the classes... I can't tell you how much that blesses me! I can't wait to return!

We've eaten lots of great food... one place I hadn't tried before was the Country Pancake House in Lakewood Ranch. My mom had warned me that the servings were generous but that is an understatement. Check out her serving of pancakes!

The three of us left with four to-go containers full of our leftovers!

AND I have more pictures of my Goodwill finds to share! I LOVE the things I've found on this trip!

How cute is the button clutch purse! And I love the vintage plastic Statue of Liberty. It is my favorite find of all.

Old pink Melamine cups, a cute little snowman, and vintage oj glasses.

A few sweet little things.

Check out the detail on this thrift shop $3 basket! The berries, watermelon slice, and peas are all velvet and pearls!

I found two twin Ralph Lauren bedspreads at Goodwill for $9.99 each. I love the colors and think they will be perfect with Cath Kidston accents someday when I can change a certain son's room into a guest room. (When he gets a good job and moves out on his own... ha!)

My mom and dad are experts at inventiveness and used a Shop-vac with a garbage bag to shrink these down to fit both in one smallish box to ship home. The before and after...

I have a class project in mind for these old pants hangers...

I love this felt Merry Christmas "banner" that I'll string across the fireplace...

We'll have to see how much we can cram into one more day tomorrow! It'll include one last trip to the Bargain Barn, some time at the beach, dinner at Anna Maria Oyster Bar, and a stop at the factory outlet mall. Now the trick is to get all this stuff home!!